Beacons for wireless communication

ABSTRACT

A system and method for wireless devices to efficiently receive communications by transmitting and receiving specialized beacon messages. Particularly, a wireless device may await reception of a synchronizing beacon message from a transmitting device. A relative position identifier within the synchronizing beacon message may then allow the wireless device to anticipate future beacon message transmissions and to synchronize its reception pattern with the transmitter. In this manner the wireless device need only receive and decode beacon messages germane to its operation.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY UNDER 35 U.S.C. §119

The present application for patent claims priority to ProvisionalApplication No. 61/525,353 entitled “BEACONS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION”filed Aug. 19, 2011, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/588,293entitled “BEACONS FOR WIRELESS COMMUNICATION” filed Aug. 17, 2012, eachof which are assigned to the assignee hereof and expressly incorporatedby reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present application relates generally to wireless communications,and more specifically to systems, methods, and devices for communicatingdevice information between electronic devices in packets having aplurality of different formats.

2. Background

In many telecommunication systems, communications networks are used toexchange messages among several interacting spatially separated devices.Networks may be classified according to geographic scope, which couldbe, for example, a metropolitan area, a local area, or a personal area.Such networks would be designated respectively as a wide area network(WAN), metropolitan area network (MAN), local area network (LAN),wireless local area network (WLAN), or personal area network (PAN).Networks also differ according to the switching/routing technique usedto interconnect the various network nodes and devices (e.g. circuitswitching vs. packet switching), the type of physical media employed fortransmission (e.g. wired vs. wireless), and the set of communicationprotocols used (e.g. Internet protocol suite, SONET (Synchronous OpticalNetworking), Ethernet, etc.).

Wireless networks are often preferred when the network elements aremobile and thus have dynamic connectivity needs, or if the networkarchitecture is formed in an ad hoc rather than fixed topology. Wirelessnetworks may employ electromagnetic waves in the radio, microwave,infrared, or optical frequency bands. Wireless networks advantageouslyfacilitate user mobility and rapid field deployment when compared tofixed wired networks.

The devices in a wireless network may transmit/receive informationbetween each other. The information may comprise packets, which in someaspects may be referred to as data units, data beacons, or beaconmessages. The packets may include overhead information (e.g., headerinformation, packet properties, etc.) that helps in routing the packetthrough the network, identifying the data in the packet, processing thepacket, etc., as well as data, for example user data, multimediacontent, etc. as might be carried in a payload of the packet.

Access points may also broadcast information to other nodes that isrelevant to communications in the network. Such transmission ofinformation may require use of significant bandwidth in the network.Thus, improved systems, methods, and devices for communicating packetsare desired.

SUMMARY

The systems, methods, and devices of the embodiments disclosed hereineach have several aspects, no single one of which is solely responsiblefor its desirable attributes. Without limiting the scope of thisinvention as expressed by the claims that follow, some features arediscussed briefly below. After considering this discussion, andparticularly after reading the section entitled Detailed Description,”it will be understood how embodiments within the scope of the inventioninclude systems and methods for communicating device information betweenelectronic devices in packets having a plurality of different formats.

One embodiment is a wireless communication device. The device comprisesa receiver configured to receive a sequence of beacon messagescomprising a first beacon message and a plurality of subsequent beaconmessages. The first beacon message comprises at least one of contentinformation and timing information of at least one of the plurality ofsubsequent beacon messages. The device further comprises a processorelectrically coupled to the receiver and configured to decode a propersubset of the plurality of subsequent beacon messages based on at leastone of the content information and the timing information.

Another embodiment is a method of communication. The method comprisesreceiving a sequence of beacon messages comprising a first beaconmessage and a plurality of subsequent beacon messages. The first beaconmessage comprises at least one of content information and timinginformation of at least one of the plurality of subsequent beaconmessages. The method further comprises decoding a proper subset of theplurality of subsequent beacon messages based on at least one of thecontent information and the timing information.

Another embodiment is a wireless communication device. The devicecomprises means for receiving a sequence of beacon messages comprising afirst beacon message and a plurality of subsequent beacon messages. Thefirst beacon message comprises at least one of content information andtiming information of at least one of the plurality of subsequent beaconmessages. The device further comprises means for decoding a propersubset of the plurality of subsequent beacon messages based on at leastone of the content information and the timing information.

Another embodiment provides a computer readable medium comprisinginstructions. The instructions when executed cause an apparatus toreceive a sequence of beacon messages comprising a first beacon messageand a plurality of subsequent beacon messages. The first beacon messagecomprises at least one of content information and timing information ofat least one of the plurality of subsequent beacon messages. Theinstructions when executed further cause the apparatus to decode aproper subset of the plurality of subsequent beacon messages based on atleast one of the content information and the timing information.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacturecomprising instructions for communicating beacon messages in a basestation subsystem comprising an access point and an access terminal. Themethod, system or article of manufacture includes transmitting from theaccess point to the access terminal a repeating finite sequence ofbeacon messages, the sequence comprising a first beacon messagecomprising a relative position identifier to indicate timing ofsubsequent beacon messages in the finite sequence and to identifycontent contained in the subsequent beacon messages, the subsequentbeacon messages including information not contained in the first beaconmessage. The method, system, or article of manufacture also includesdecoding at the access terminal the first beacon message and a propersubset of the sequence of beacon messages based upon the relativeposition identifier, the access terminal in a low power state duringtransmission of a second subset of sequence of beacon messages, thesecond subset of beacon messages comprising beacon messages not in theproper subset and not including the first beacon message.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacturecomprising instructions for communicating in a base station subsystem.The base station subsystem includes an access point and an accessterminal, where the base station subsystem is identified by a BSSID(Basic Service Set Identification). The method, system, or article ofmanufacture includes transmitting beacon messages from the access pointto the access terminal, each beacon message an instance of a full beaconmessage type or an instance of a short beacon message type. The method,system, and article of manufacture also includes transmitting beaconmessages of the short beacon message type at a first time interval, andtransmitting full beacon messages of the full beacon message type at asecond time interval, the second time interval equal to an integermultiple of the first time interval; wherein each beacon message of theshort beacon message type includes a compressed BSSID field having avalue indicative of a cyclic redundancy check of the BSSID.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacturecomprising instructions for communicating beacon messages in a basestation subsystem comprising an access point and an access terminal. Themethod, system, or article of manufacture for decoding by the accessterminal a first beacon message providing an absolute time; and decodingby the access terminal a second beacon message subsequent to the firstbeacon message, the second beacon message comprising a sequence numberrelative to the first beacon message and a time offset, the time offsetindicating a time difference between when the second beacon message wasscheduled to be transmitted by the access point and when it actually wastransmitted.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacture havinginstructions for communicating a set of information elements in a basestation subsystem comprising an access point and an access terminal. Themethod, system, or article of manufacture transmitting beacon messagesfrom the access point to the access terminal, each beacon message aninstance of a full beacon message type or an instance of a short beaconmessage type, wherein each beacon message of the full beacon messagetype comprises the set of information elements; and transmitting aplurality of beacon messages of the short beacon message type, eachbeacon message in the plurality of beacon messages comprising a propersubset of the set of information elements, wherein the plurality ofbeacon messages comprises the set of information elements.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacture havinginstructions for communicating in a base station subsystem comprising anaccess point and an access terminal. The method, system, or article ofmanufacture transmitting beacon messages from the access point to theaccess terminal, each beacon message an instance of a full beaconmessage type or an instance of a short beacon message type; andtransmitting a first beacon message comprising content information, thecontent information specifying content of information contained inbeacon messages of the short beacon message type transmittedsubsequently to the first beacon message.

Another embodiment is a method, system, or article of manufacture havinginstructions for communicating in a base station subsystem comprising anaccess point and an access terminal. The method, system, or article ofmanufacture transmitting beacon messages from the access point to theaccess terminal, each beacon message an instance of a full beaconmessage type or an instance of a short beacon message type; transmittinga plurality of beacon messages of the short beacon message type, eachbeacon message in the plurality of beacon messages comprising a physicallayer preamble comprising a SIG field, the SIG field comprising a lengthfield; and decoding at the access terminal the plurality of beaconmessages, wherein beacon messages in the plurality of beacon messagesare decoded as synchronization beacon messages provided their lengthfield is set to all zeroes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be employed.

FIG. 2 shows a functional block diagram of a wireless device that may beemployed within the wireless communication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a beacon message that may be used inthe wireless communication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 illustrates a plurality of beacon messages transmitted by the AP104 to STAs 106 in the wireless communication system 100 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of one form of a shortened beacon messagethat may be used in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example of a beacon message that may be usedin the wireless communication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example of a physical layer (PHY) preambleincluding a synchronizing beacon that may be used in the wirelesscommunication system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an exemplary process bywhich the wireless device of FIG. 2 acquires data frames.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram depicting another exemplary process bywhich the wireless device of FIG. 2 generates and transmits data frames.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of another exemplary wirelessdevice that may be employed within the wireless communication system ofFIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the novel systems, apparatuses, and methods aredescribed more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many differentforms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structureor function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspectsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art shouldappreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover anyaspect of the novel systems, apparatuses, and methods disclosed herein,whether implemented independently of, or combined with, any other aspectof the invention. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or amethod may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forthherein. In addition, the scope of the invention is intended to coversuch an apparatus or method that is practiced using other structure,functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or otherthan the various aspects of the invention set forth herein. It should beunderstood that any aspect disclosed herein may be embodied by one ormore elements of a claim.

Although particular aspects are described herein, many variations andpermutations of these aspects fall within the scope of the disclosure.Although some benefits and advantages of the preferred aspects arementioned, the scope of the disclosure is not intended to be limited toparticular benefits, uses, or objectives. Rather, aspects of thedisclosure are intended to be broadly applicable to different wirelesstechnologies, system configurations, networks, and transmissionprotocols, some of which are illustrated by way of example in thefigures and in the following description of the preferred aspects. Thedetailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of thedisclosure rather than limiting, the scope of the disclosure beingdefined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

Popular wireless network technologies may include various types ofwireless local area networks (WLANs). A WLAN may be used to interconnectnearby devices together, employing widely used networking protocols. Thevarious aspects described herein may apply to any communicationstandard, such as a wireless protocol.

In some aspects, wireless signals in a sub-gigahertz band may betransmitted according to the 802.11ah protocol using orthogonalfrequency-division multiplexing (OFDM), direct-sequence spread spectrum(DSSS) communications, a combination of OFDM and DSSS communications, orother schemes. Implementations of the 802.11ah protocol may be used forsensors, metering, and smart grid networks. Advantageously, aspects ofcertain devices implementing the 802.11ah protocol may consume lesspower than devices implementing other wireless protocols, and/or may beused to transmit wireless signals across a relatively long range, forexample about one kilometer or longer.

In some implementations, a WLAN includes various devices that are thecomponents that access the wireless network. For example, there may betwo types of devices: an access point (AP) and a client. A client mayalso be referred to as an access terminal (AT) or a station (STA). Ingeneral, an access point may serve as a hub or base station for the WLANand an STA serves as a user of the WLAN. For example, an STA may be alaptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile phone,etc. In an example, an STA connects to an AP via a WiFi (e.g., IEEE802.11 protocol such as 802.11ah) compliant wireless link to obtaingeneral connectivity to the Internet or to other wide area networks. Insome implementations an STA may also be used as an AP.

An access point (AP) may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as aNodeB, Radio Network Controller (RNC), eNodeB, Base Station Controller(BSC), Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Base Station (BS), TransceiverFunction (TF), Radio Router, Radio Transceiver, or some otherterminology.

A station (STA) may also comprise, be implemented as, or known as anaccess terminal (AT), a subscriber station, a subscriber unit, a mobilestation, a remote station, a remote terminal, a user terminal, a useragent, a user device, user equipment, or some other terminology. In someimplementations an access terminal may comprise a cellular telephone, acordless telephone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, awireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld device having wireless connection capability, or some othersuitable processing device connected to a wireless modem. Accordingly,one or more aspects taught herein may be incorporated into a phone(e.g., a cellular phone or smartphone), a computer (e.g., a laptop), aportable communication device, a headset, a portable computing device(e.g., a personal data assistant), an entertainment device (e.g., amusic or video device, or a satellite radio), a gaming device or system,a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that isconfigured to communicate via a wireless medium.

As discussed above, certain of the devices described herein mayimplement the 802.11ah standard, for example. Such devices, whether usedas an STA or AP or other device, may be used for smart metering or in asmart grid network. Such devices may provide sensor applications or beused in home automation. The devices may instead or in addition be usedin a healthcare context, for example for personal healthcare. They mayalso be used for surveillance, to enable extended-range Internetconnectivity (e.g. for use with hotspots), or to implementmachine-to-machine communications.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 100 inwhich aspects of the present disclosure may be employed. The wirelesscommunication system 100 may operate pursuant to a wireless standard,for example the 802.11ah standard. The wireless communication system 100may include an AP 104, which communicates with STAs 106.

A variety of processes and methods may be used for transmissions in thewireless communication system 100 between the AP 104 and the STAs 106.For example, signals may be sent and received between the AP 104 and theSTAs 106 in accordance with OFDM/OFDMA techniques. If this is the case,the wireless communication system 100 may be referred to as anOFDM/OFDMA system. Alternatively, signals may be sent and receivedbetween the AP 104 and the STAs 106 in accordance with CDMA techniques.If this is the case, the wireless communication system 100 may bereferred to as a CDMA system.

A communication link that facilitates transmission from the AP 104 toone or more of the STAs 106 may be referred to as a downlink (DL) 108,and a communication link that facilitates transmission from one or moreof the STAs 106 to the AP 104 may be referred to as an uplink (UL) 110.Alternatively, a downlink 108 may be referred to as a forward link or aforward channel, and an uplink 110 may be referred to as a reverse linkor a reverse channel.

The AP 104 may act as a base station and provide wireless communicationcoverage in a basic service area (BSA) 102. The AP 104 along with theSTAs 106 associated with the AP 104 and that use the AP 104 forcommunication may be referred to as a basic service set (BSS). It shouldbe noted that the wireless communication system 100 may not have acentral AP 104, but rather may function as a peer-to-peer networkbetween the STAs 106. Accordingly, the functions of the AP 104 describedherein may alternatively be performed by one or more of the STAs 106.

The AP 104 may transmit a beacon message (or simply a beacon), via acommunication link such as the downlink 108, to other nodes STAs 106 ofthe system 100, which may help the other nodes STAs 106 to synchronizetheir timing with the AP 104, or which may provide other information orfunctionality. Such beacon messages may be transmitted periodically. Inone aspect, the period between successive transmissions may be referredto as a superframe. Transmission of a beacon message may be divided intoa number of groups or intervals. In one aspect, the beacon message mayinclude, but is not limited to, such information as timestampinformation to set a common clock, a peer-to-peer network identifier, adevice identifier, capability information, a superframe duration,transmission direction information, reception direction information, aneighbor list, and/or an extended neighbor list, some of which aredescribed in additional detail below. Thus, a beacon message may includeinformation both common (e.g. shared) amongst several devices, andinformation specific to a given device.

In some aspects, a STA 106 may be required to associate with the AP 104in order to send communications to and/or receive communications fromthe AP 104. In one aspect, information for associating is included in abeacon message broadcast by the AP 104. To receive such a beaconmessage, the STA 106 may, for example, perform a broad coverage searchover a coverage region. A search may also be performed by the STA 106 bysweeping a coverage region in a lighthouse fashion, for example. Afterreceiving the information for associating, the STA 106 may transmit areference signal, such as an association probe or request, to the AP104. In some aspects, the AP 104 may use backhaul services, for example,to communicate with a larger network, such as the Internet or a publicswitched telephone network (PSTN).

FIG. 2 illustrates various components that may be utilized in a wirelessdevice 202 that may be employed within the wireless communication system100. The wireless device 202 is an example of a device that may beconfigured to implement the various methods described herein. Forexample, the wireless device 202 may comprise the AP 104 or one of theSTAs 106.

The wireless device 202 may include a processor 204 that controlsoperation of the wireless device 202. The processor 204 may also bereferred to as a central processing unit (CPU). Memory 206, which mayinclude both read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM), mayprovide instructions and data to the processor 204. A portion of thememory 206 may also include non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM).The processor 204 typically performs logical and arithmetic operationsbased on program instructions stored within the memory 206. Theinstructions in the memory 206 may be executable to implement themethods described herein.

The processor 204 may comprise or be a component of a processing systemimplemented with one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe implemented with any combination of general-purpose microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmablegate array (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), controllers,state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware components, dedicatedhardware finite state machines, or any other suitable entities that canperform calculations or other manipulations of information.

The processing system may also include machine-readable media forstoring software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean any typeof instructions, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware,microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. Instructions mayinclude code (e.g., in source code format, binary code format,executable code format, or any other suitable format of code). Theinstructions, when executed by the one or more processors, cause theprocessing system to perform the various functions described herein.

The wireless device 202 may also include a housing 208 that may includea transmitter 210 and/or a receiver 212 to allow transmission andreception of data between the wireless device 202 and a remote location.The transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be combined into a transceiver214. An antenna 216 may be attached to the housing 208 and electricallycoupled to the transceiver 214. The wireless device 202 may also include(not shown) multiple transmitters, multiple receivers, multipletransceivers, and/or multiple antennas.

The transmitter 210 may be configured to wirelessly transmit beaconmessages having different beacon message types. For example, thetransmitter 210 may be configured to transmit beacon messages withdifferent types of beacons generated by the processor 204, discussedabove. When the wireless device 202 is implemented or used as a STA 106,the processor 204 may be configured to process beacon messages of aplurality of different beacon message types. For example, the processor204 may be configured to determine the type of beacon message used in abeacon message signal and to process the beacon message and/or fields ofthe beacon message accordingly. When the wireless device 202 isimplemented or used as an AP 104, the processor 204 may also beconfigured to select one of a plurality of beacon message types, and togenerate a beacon message having that beacon message type. For example,the processor 204 may be configured to generate a beacon messagecomprising beacon information and to determine what type of beaconinformation to use.

The receiver 212 may be configured to wirelessly receive beacon messageshaving different beacon message types. In some aspects, the receiver 212may be configured to detect a type of a beacon message used and toprocess the beacon message accordingly, as discussed in further detailbelow.

The wireless device 202 may also include a signal detector 218 that maybe used in an effort to detect and quantify the level of signalsreceived by the transceiver 214. The signal detector 218 may detect suchsignals as total energy, energy per subcarrier per symbol, powerspectral density and other signals. The wireless device 202 may alsoinclude a digital signal processor (DSP) 220 for use in processingsignals. The DSP 220 may be configured to generate a packet fortransmission. In some aspects, the packet may comprise a physical layerdata unit (PPDU).

The wireless device 202 may further comprise a user interface 222 insome aspects. The user interface 222 may comprise a keypad, amicrophone, a speaker, and/or a display. The user interface 222 mayinclude any element or component that conveys information to a user ofthe wireless device 202 and/or receives input from the user.

The various components of the wireless device 202 may be coupledtogether by a bus system 226. The bus system 226 may include a data bus,for example, as well as a power bus, a control signal bus, and a statussignal bus in addition to the data bus. The components of the wirelessdevice 202 may be coupled together or accept or provide inputs to eachother using some other mechanism.

Although a number of separate components are illustrated in FIG. 2, oneor more of the components may be combined or commonly implemented. Forexample, the processor 204 may be used to implement not only thefunctionality described above with respect to the processor 204, butalso to implement the functionality described above with respect to thesignal detector 218 and/or the DSP 220. Further, each of the componentsillustrated in FIG. 2 may be implemented using a plurality of separateelements.

The wireless device 202 may comprise an AP 104 or an STA 106, and may beused to transmit and/or receive communications including beaconmessages. That is, either AP 104 or STA 106 may serve as transmitter orreceiver devices of beacon information. Such communication may beinitiated upon receipt of a message from the transmitter device to thereceiver device. Certain aspects contemplate signal detector 218 beingused by software running on memory 206 and processor 204 to detect thepresence of a transmitter or receiver.

To ensure proper communication between the AP 104 and the STA 106devices, the STA 106 may require information regarding characteristicsof the AP 104. For example, the STA 106 may require timing informationabout the AP 104 in order to synchronize timing of communication betweenthe STA 106 and the AP 104. Additionally or alternatively, the STA 106may require other information such as a media access control (MAC)address of the AP 104, an identifier of the basic service set (BSS)served by the AP 104, etc. The types of information the STA 106 mayrequire is discussed in further detail below. The STA 106 may determinewhether it needs such information independently, such as throughsoftware running using memory 206 and processor 204.

In certain aspects, the AP 104 may send a beacon message using thetransmitter 210 comprising all the desired information. In an aspect,the AP 104 sends beacon messages periodically to synchronize the networkand provide basic information to the STAs 106. For example, the beaconmessage structure may be determined by the AP 104 and transmittedrepeatedly at regular intervals to the STAs 106. These beacon messagesmay be relatively large, as depicted in FIG. 3. Furthermore, they may besent at very low rates. Thus, there may be considerable overhead inmanaging these frames.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a beacon message frame 300 used incertain communication systems, such as that depicted in FIG. 1. Asshown, the beacon message 300 includes a media access control (MAC)header 302, a frame body 304, and a frame control sequence (FCS) 306. Asshown in this example, the MAC header 302 is 24 bytes long, the framebody 304 is of variable length, and the FCS 306 is four bytes long.

The MAC header 302 serves to provide basic routing information for thebeacon message 300. In the illustrated aspect, the MAC header 302includes a frame control (FC) field 308, a duration field 310, adestination address (DA) field 312, a source address (SA) field 314, abasic service set identification (BSSID) field 316, and a sequencecontrol field 318. As shown, the FC field 308 is two bytes long, theduration field 310 is two bytes long, the DA field 312 is six byteslong, the SA field 314 is six bytes long, the BSSID field 316 is sixbytes long, and the sequence control field 318 is two bytes long.

The frame body 304 serves to provide detailed information about thetransmitting node. In the illustrated aspect, the frame body 304includes a timestamp field 320, a beacon interval field 322, acapability information field 324, a service set identifier (SSID) field326, a supported rates field 328, a frequency-hopping (FH) parameter set330, a direct-sequence parameter set 332, a contention-free parameterset 334, an independent basic service set (IBSS) parameter set 336, acountry information field 338, a FH hopping parameter field 340, a FHpattern table 342, a power constraint field 344, a channel switchannouncement field 346, a quiet field 348, a IBSS direct frequencyselection (DFS) field 350, a transmit power control (TPC) field 352, aneffective radiated power (ERP) information field 354, an extendedsupported rates field 356, and a robust security network (RSN) field358.

As shown in FIG. 3, the timestamp field 320 is eight bytes long, thebeacon interval field 322 is two bytes long, the capability informationfield 324 is two bytes long, the service set identifier (SSID) field 326is a variable length, the supported rates field 328 is a variablelength, the frequency-hopping (FH) parameter set 330 is seven byteslong, the direct-sequence parameter set 332 is two bytes long, thecontention-free parameter set 334 is eight bytes long, an independentbasic service set (IBSS) parameter set 336 is 4 bytes long, the countryinformation field 338 is a variable length, the FH hopping parameterfield 340 is four bytes long, the FH pattern table 342 is a variablelength, the power constraint field 344 is three bytes long, the channelswitch announcement field 346 is six bytes long, the quiet field 348 iseight bytes long, the IBSS direct frequency selection (DFS) field 350 isa variable length, the transmit power control (TPC) field 352 is fourbytes long, an effective radiated power (ERP) information field 354 isthree bytes long, an extended supported rates field 356 is a variablelength, and the robust security network (RSN) field 358 is a variablelength.

The beacon message 300 may include all the information that the STA 106requires. Accordingly, the STA 106 need only listen to this entirebeacon message to obtain all the information the STA 106 requires.However, the STA 106 may not require all of the information included insuch a beacon message. For example, the beacon message may containinformation the STA 106 already has, or information that is relevant toanother STA, but not to the STA 106. Therefore, the STA 106 is requiredto listen to or decode the additional information in the beacon message,in order to get the information it requires. This requires the STA 106to spend additional processing power and time in an awake state in orderto decode the entire beacon message.

The STA 106 may have a plurality of operational modes. For example, theSTA 106 may have a first operational mode referred to as an active mode.In the active mode, the STA 106 may always be in an awake or awakenedstate and actively transmit/receive data with the AP 104. Further, theSTA 106 may have a second operational mode referred to as a power savemode. In the power save mode, the STA 106 may be in the awake state, ora doze or sleep state, where the STA 106 does not activelytransmit/receive data with the AP 104. For example, the receiver 212 andpossibly DSP 220 and signal detector 218 of the STA 106 may operateusing reduced power consumption in the doze state. Further, as discussedabove, the STA 106 needs to remain in the awake state to receive abeacon message. Accordingly, if the beacon message is long, the STA 106needs to stay in an awake state for a longer period of time, thusconsuming more power.

For example, although the beacon message 300 has a variable length, itmay be at least 89 bytes long, requiring the STA 106 to spendconsiderable time in an awake state. However, in various radioenvironments, much of the information contained in the beacon message300 may be used infrequently or not at all. Accordingly, in low-powerradio environments, it may be desirable to reduce the length of thebeacon message 300 in order to reduce power consumption. Moreover, someradio environments use low data rates. For example an access pointimplementing an 802.11ah standard may take a relatively long time totransmit the beacon message 300 due to relatively slow data transmissionrates. Accordingly, it may be desirable to reduce the length of thebeacon message 300 in order to shorten the amount of time it takes totransmit the beacon message 300.

There are a number of approaches by which the beacon message 300 may beshortened or compressed. In an aspect, one or more fields of the beaconmessage 300 may be omitted. In another aspect, one or more fields of thebeacon message 300 may be reduced in size, for example by using adifferent encoding scheme or by accepting a lower information content.In one aspect, the wireless system may allow a STA to query the AP forinformation omitted from a beacon message. For example, the STA mayrequest information omitted from the beacon message via a probe request.In an aspect, a full beacon message may be sent periodically or at adynamically chosen time.

Accordingly, in certain aspects, the AP 104 may transmit one or moreshortened beacon messages. These shortened beacon messages may allow theSTA 106 to listen to only certain beacon messages and get only certaininformation that the STA 106 requires. Accordingly, the STA 106 remainsin an awake state for a shortened period of time, thus improving powerefficiency. Aspects of shortened beacon messages are with reference toFIGS. 4, 5A, and 5B.

Certain aspects contemplate a mechanism for transmitting shortenedbeacons of a plurality of different types from the AP 104 to the STAs106 in certain networks. In particular, certain aspects contemplatetransmitting a sequence of multiple short beacon messages carryingdifferent information in different beacon messages. The AP 104, usingthe processor 204 running software, may determine a plurality oftransmit time intervals for transmitting a plurality of beacon messages.The AP 104 may then transmit these beacon messages using the transmitter210 at the determined intervals. Each beacon message may comprise a(partially) different set of information from its neighbors. Thisinformation may comprise information elements (IE) associated with thetransmitting device, information about the network, data, etc. Thetransmit intervals may be constant and repetitive.

FIG. 4 illustrates a plurality of beacon messages transmitted by the AP104 to STAs 106 in the wireless communication system 100 of FIG. 1. Theplurality of STAs 106 may use processors 204 running software to receivethese beacon messages via the receiver 212 and to reorganize thetransmitted information into its original form. These beacon messagesmay each comprise partial information distinct from one another. Forexample, as discussed in relation to FIG. 5B, one beacon message maycomprise particular information regarding transmission powerconstraints. Another beacon message may comprise specific bandwidthinformation for a particular STA 106. These shorter beacon messagesfacilitate more efficient and more selective reception and decoding bythe STAs 106. Thus, unlike the networks described above this arrangementwill more efficiently convey information as STAs 106 may be moreselective in how they acquire information. Accordingly, the STAs 106need only listen to or decode the beacons messages of the plurality ofbeacon messages that include information (e.g., IEs) the STAs 106require.

In certain aspects, the STAs 106 may poll the AP 104 for particularinformation using a shortened beacon message format. Using reciprocal“polling” messages and “wrapper” messages the STA 106 may be able torespond to a shortened beacon message and request specificcharacteristics regarding the AP 104, other STAs 106, or the networkgenerally. Thus, certain aspects contemplate polling short beaconmessage forms by which an STA 106 may request more information, and aplurality of wrapper short beacons, which will respond with the desiredinformation. This arrangement facilitates the STA 106's requestingfurther characteristics, individually, from the AP 104 (either the AP orSTA) rather than being required to receive a large block of informationin a single transmission.

The STA 106 may implement such polling using software running onprocessor 204 and memory 206 that directs the operation of transmitter210 and receiver 212 as well as DSP 220. Similarly, the AP 104 mayreceive polling messages via receiver 212 and determine the appropriatewrapper message contents to transmit via transmitter 210 by softwarerunning on memory 206 and processor 204.

In certain aspects, these individual characteristics are referred to asinformation elements (IEs). Such characteristics may comprise theinterval between beacon message transmissions, a supported data rate,power constraint information, bandwidth constraint information, possiblenetwork operations, etc. The STA 106 may request IE values because theywere not included in the original shortened beacon message sent by theAP 104. The STA 106 may also request IE values at its own initiative.Furthermore, in certain aspects, the STA 106 may selectively request IEvalues separately from the AP 104, as part of a more granular requestprocess. These aspects allow the STA 106 to control the delivery of IEvalues, rather than be dependent upon the AP 104.

In some aspects, the first beacon message in the series may be specialin that it provides foundational information for when the STAs 106 mayanticipate receiving supplemental beacon messages. Such information maycomprise a relative position identifier, or index, indicating the timingwhen future beacon messages will arrive and what content they mayposses. This information may be conveyed explicitly or implicitly, asdescribed in greater detail below. By considering this information STAs106 may decide to decode only a subset of the transmitted beaconmessages and sleep the rest of the time.

In some aspects, a processor 204 running software on an STA 106 and aprocessor 204 running software on AP 104 may communicate via theirrespective transceivers 214 and agree which beacon messages will carryinformation of interest. STA 106 may subsequently only activate itstransceiver 214 when those beacon messages are transmitted. In someaspects, information about the timing that particular beacon messagesare transmitted (e.g., with respect to a repeated time interval such astransmission of a first beacon) and the information those beacons willinclude may be conveyed to each STA 106 and the AP 104 duringinitialization of the AP 104 and each STA 106 (e.g., at the time ofmanufacture of the STA 106 and the AP 104, at the first run time of theSTA 106 and the AP 104, when an STA 106 join a new wireless network suchas wireless communication system 100, etc.). In some aspects, theinformation may be conveyed or additionally revised, such as throughcommunication with other devices in the wireless communication system100. For example, the information may be exchanged between the AP 104and the STA 106 during an association procedure, such as according to an802.11 protocol (e.g., 802.11ah). In some aspects, the information mayindicate a first beacon in a sequence carries information about networkbandwidth. In some aspects, the information may indicate a second beaconin a sequence carries information about capabilities of the AP 104, suchas a number of antennas the AP 104 includes.

The information may indicate, for example, the sequence in which beaconmessages are transmitted. For example, information may be transmitted bythe AP 104 in a sequence of beacon messages, each beacon message beingseparated by a time interval. The sequence may be, for example, beaconmessages 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. The AP 104 and STA 106 may have informationabout what type of information is included in each of beacon messages 1,2, 3, 4, and 5. Accordingly, as long as the STA 106 has informationabout which beacon message is transmitted at which time, the STA 106 maylisten to only beacon messages with information relevant to the STA 106.For example, if the STA 106 has information about when beacon message 1is transmitted from the AP 104, the STA 106 may determine when the nextbeacon messages will be transmitted from the AP 104. In particular theSTA 106 merely adds the interval time (or a multiple of the intervaltime as appropriate) between beacon messages to the timing of whenbeacon message 1 was transmitted to determine when the other beaconmessages will be transmitted. Information about the timing oftransmission of any of the beacon messages, not just beacon message 1,may be used to make determinations for when all beacon messages will betransmitted.

Each beacon message may comprise an identifier indicating that it is abeacon message as distinguished from a normal frame. Beacon messages mayalso include an identifier of the base station BSS so that an STA 106may discard overlapping BSS (OBSS) beacon messages. Beacon messages mayalso communicate the MAC address of the AP 104.

Each beacon message may also comprise a relative position identifier inthe form of a sequence number. These identifiers facilitate an STA'swaking up to read an arbitrary beacon message and to synchronize withthe remaining sequence. The sequence may comprise the number of beaconmessages before the next first (or restart) beacon message. The nextfirst (or restart) beacon message may itself comprise a specialidentifier identifying itself as such. Alternatively, if the totalnumber of beacon messages in the sequence is known the last beaconmessage in the sequence may instead be used as a reference.

Certain aspects also contemplate indicating the time between two beaconmessages. Alternatively, the time between beacon messages may beconstant and expressed in multiples of microseconds. A list ofInformation elements may also be included, or just a list of those IEswhich have changed since a prior transmission. Synch beacon messages, asdescribed below, may have a PHY structure to allow them to be veryshort.

FIG. 5A illustrates an example of one form of a shortened beacon messagethat may be used in certain of the present aspects. The short beaconmessage 500 a of this aspect may comprise ten components. The shortbeacon message 500 a may comprise a frame control (FC) 501 comprising 2bytes, a duration field 502 comprising 2 bytes, a source address (SA)field 503 comprising 6 bytes, a sequence control field 504 comprising 2bytes and an SSID hash 505 comprising a single byte. The short beaconmessage 500 a may also comprise a timestamp 506 comprising 4 bytes, afield indicating the beacon interval 507 comprising 2 bytes, and acapability field 508 comprising 1 byte, indicating the transmittercapabilities. The short beacon message 500 a may also comprise anindication of the channel info 509 comprising 2 bytes and a CRC checksum410 comprising 4 bytes.

The capability information field 508 may serve to provide informationregarding a transmitting AP's wireless capabilities. In the illustratedaspect, the capability information field 508 is shorter than thecapability information field 324 described above with respect to FIG. 3.Specifically, the capability information field 508 is only one bytelong, whereas the capability information field 324 is two bytes long.

FIG. 5B illustrates another example of a beacon message format that maybe used in the wireless communication system of FIG. 1. As indicated thetransmit power channel may be broken down into more granular components.Similarly, the beacon information block may be decomposed into moregranular components. This low overhead beacon 500 b may comprise only 16bytes.

As shown, the beacon 500 b comprises a FC field 511 comprising 2 bytes(also referred to as octets), followed by a SA field 512 comprising 2bytes, followed by a SSID hash field 513 comprising one byte, followedby a timestamp field 514 comprising 4 bytes, followed by a transmitpower and channel field 515 comprising 2 bytes, followed by a beaconinformation field 516 comprising 1 byte, and followed by a cyclicredundancy check (CRC) field 517 comprising 4 bytes.

In describing the individual details of the transmit power and channelfield 515, the transmit power and channel field 515 comprises a transmitpower constraint field 552 comprising 5 bits, followed by a primarychannel offset field 554 comprising 4 bits, followed by a bandwidthfield 556 comprising 4 bits, followed by a primary channel indicatorfield 558 comprising 4 bits, and followed by a reserved field 560comprising 3 bits.

In describing the individual details of the beacon information field516, the beacon information field 516 comprises a traffic indication map(TIM) follows field 572 comprising 1 bit, followed by a full beaconfollows field 574 comprising 1 bit, followed by an extended service set(ESS) field 576 comprising 1 bit, followed by an IBSS field 578comprising 1 bit, and followed by a reserved field 580 comprising 4bits.

In certain aspects this shortened beacon message may not be able toaccommodate all the characteristic values of interest. Furthermore, asdiscussed above, it may be desirable for the STA 106 to selectively pollthe AP 104 for certain characteristics of interest. In the example ofFIG. 5B, the shortened beacon is providing information specificallyregarding transmission power constraints at the AP 104. The STAs 106 whohave an interest in this information may selectively request thatinformation using a polling message as discussed above. In some aspects,the AP 104 may transmit this short beacon message periodically, and theSTA 106 may instead receive the beacon message of FIG. 5B bysynchronizing its reception with transmissions from the AP 104. Incertain aspects, the STA 106 may synchronize its reception withtransmissions from the AP 104 through the use of a synchronizing beacontransmitted by the AP 104. The synchronizing beacon may be a type ofshortened beacon message and be transmitted according to the samemethods as those discussed above with respect to shortened beaconmessages in general. The STA 106 may further aggregate the informationreceived over a number of periods in the periodically transmitted shortbeacon messages to obtain a complete network configuration information.

A synchronizing beacon may include one or more of the following, a hashof the BSSID serviced by the AP 104, and additional information to allowthe STA 106 to determine the location in time a next beacon is to betransmitted from the AP 104. The hash of the BSSID allows the STA 106 todetermine that the synchronizing beacon is from the AP 104 and not fromsome other AP that the STA 106 is not associated with. Accordingly, insome aspects, the STA 106 need only decode the synchronizing beacon ifit contains the hash of the BSSID used by the AP 104. Further, theadditional information allows the STA 106 to synchronize timing with theAP 104 for communicating. For example, the additional information maycomprise an absolute time that a beacon is transmitted by the AP 104.The STA 106 may further have information about a time period betweentransmissions of beacons. Therefore, the STA 106 may synchronize withthe absolute time sent in the beacon and selectively listen forsubsequent beacons at repeating time intervals corresponding to the timeperiod. The absolute time may be calculated from a reference time knownby the STA 106 and the AP 104.

In another aspect, the additional information may comprise a relativetime indication of the time offset from transmission of thesynchronizing beacon to the transmission of a next beacon by the AP 104.For example, the STA 106 may have received an absolute time forsynchronization in a first beacon. The STA 106 may then receive asubsequent beacon including a sequence number and a time offset (thetime offset indicating a time offset between when the subsequent beaconwas scheduled to be transmitted and when the subsequent beacon wasactually transmitted due to, for example, contention). As discussedabove, the STA 106 may further have information about a time periodbetween transmissions of beacons. Based on the sequence numbermultiplied by the time period the STA 106 can determine when thesubsequent beacon was scheduled to be transmitted. Further, by addingthe time offset to the scheduled time, the STA 106 can determine whenthe subsequent beacon was actually transmitted. The STA 106 can thensynchronize its time with the time the subsequent beacon was actuallytransmitted. Accordingly, the STA 106 may sleep until the transmissionof the next beacon by the AP 104 at a time period after the synchronizedtime, then wakeup and receive the next beacon.

This time offset may be the same between successive beacon messages,allowing the STA 106 to know the transmission schedule of beaconsgenerally. Further, as discussed above, the STA 106 may have informationregarding the sequence in which beacon messages are transmitted,including when a synchronizing beacon is transmitted. Based on thisinformation, as discussed above, the STA 106 may determine whendifferent beacon messages with different information will be transmittedby the AP 104 and only listen for relevant beacon messages based ontheir offset from the synchronizing beacon. For example, thesynchronizing beacon may be the 3^(rd) of 5 beacon messages transmittedin sequence by the AP 104. Therefore, the STA 106 may determine that thesequence will by transmitted by the AP 104 from the 3^(rd) beacon in thesequence at the time of receipt of the synchronizing beacon.

In another aspect, the additional information may comprise an indexindicating the relative position of the synchronizing beacon intransmission of a sequence of beacon messages. Therefore, the STA 106may determine that the sequence will be transmitted from the AP 104 fromthe index position indicated in the synchronizing beacon. Further, theSTA 106 may assume the next beacon will be transmitted at a fixed timeinterval from receipt of the synchronizing beacon as discussed above.

In one aspect, the information discussed above for a synchronizingbeacon may be sent in place of a service (SERVICE) field in a physicallayer (PHY) preamble of a packet. In some aspects, the synchronizingbeacon may be sent in a PHY layer preamble of a packet that consistsonly of a PHY header.

FIG. 5C illustrates an example of a PHY preamble 500 c including asynchronizing beacon that may be used in the wireless communicationsystem of FIG. 1. In certain aspects, the PHY preamble 500 c includes ahigh throughput short training field (HT-STF) 592, followed by a highthroughput long training field (HT-LTF1) 594, followed by a signalSIG-A, also referred to as SIG, field 596. Other embodiments need not belimited to high throughput as referred to in the previous sentence. Asdiscussed herein, the information for a synchronizing beacon may be sentin the SIG-A field 596.

In another aspect, information discussed above for a synchronizingbeacon may be sent in MAC data fields of a packet. In yet anotheraspect, the information discussed above for a synchronizing beacon maybe sent in place of a signal (SIG) field in a physical layer preamble ofa packet.

For example, the a normal SIG field of a physical layer preamble may beinclude the following information:

Field of SIG-A Bits Comments MCS 4 The modulation and coding scheme(MCS) for single user (SU) case, reserved for multi user (MU) Num SS 2Number of spatial streams for SU and Reserved for MU SGI 1 Short GuardInterval Length 12 Length field (in symbols when aggregation is ON, isin bytes when aggregation is OFF, Mandate AMPDU for packet sizes > 4095bytes and for MU Aggregation 1 Tells whether Aggregated MAC ProtocolData Unit (AMPDU) is being used or not for SU, reserved for MU BW 2Indicating bandwidth (BW) mode Coding 1 Coding type for SU, reserved forMU MU bit 1 Set to 1 for a MU transmission, zero other- wise AID/⁺GID +Nsts′ 16 Carries address identifier (AID) for all non-MU cases, Carriesgroup identifier (GID) & number of stations (Nsts) for MU case STBC 1Space time block code Reserved 1 CRC 4 Tail 6 Total 52

For a synchronizing beacon, in one aspect, the SIG field of a physicallayer preamble may be modified to include the following information:

Field of SIG-A Bits Comments MCS 4 The MCS for SU case, reserved for MUNum SS 2 Number of spatial streams for SU and Reserved for MU Beacon/NDP1 Indicates if the frame is a synch beacon or neighbor discoveryprotocol (NDP) Length 12 Set to all zeros Relative position 3 Index ofsynch beacon with respect to corresponding main beacon SSID Hash 8 Hashof SSID/BSSID Offset 10 Off set from the predicted time of this beaconin units of slots Reserved 2 CRC 4 Tail 6 Total 52

In some aspects, the length field may be set to all zeroes to indicateto the STA 106 that the SIG field is for a synchronizing beacon. Basedon the length field being all zeroes, the STA 106 can determine thatsubsequent fields in the SIG field no longer serve the same function asin a normal SIG field. Rather the subsequent fields perform newfunctions. For example, the subsequent relative position field mayindicate the sequence position of the synchronizing beacon with respectto the first beacon in a sequence of beacons. Further, the subsequentoffset field may indicate the offset time at which the synchronizingbeacon is transmitted with respect to the time the synchronizing beaconwas expected to be transmitted in a time slot (assuming the AP 104 isoff schedule). The STA 106 may utilize this information as discussedabove to synchronize timing with the AP 104.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram depicting an exemplary process bywhich the wireless device of FIG. 2 acquires data frames (e.g.,shortened beacon messages). Initially, a wireless device such as the STA106 may be in a doze state and then awakens to an awake state at arandom or predetermined time. At 601 the process then starts. At 602,now awakened, the STA 106 receives a first shortened frame (e.g., ashortened beacon message) from the AP 104. The STA 106 may wait for apredetermined period in anticipation of receiving such a first shortenedframe from the AP 104. If no frame arrives the STA 106 may return to thedoze state until a subsequent attempt may be made.

At 603, the STA 106 may then obtain content information and/or timinginformation for a plurality of subsequent frames from the firstshortened frame. Processor 204 running software may perform this role.

Utilizing the content information and/or timing information as discussedabove, at 604 the STA 106 may then identify which of the plurality ofsubsequent shortened frames (e.g., shortened beacon messages) are ofinterest to the STA 106 and/or transmission times of such shortenedframes of interest. At 605, the STA 106 may then synchronize the awakeperiods of transceiver 214 to coincide with the transmission times ofthe shortened frames of interest. In some aspects, the period betweenshortened frame transmissions by the AP 104 is known to the STA 106beforehand. The STA 106 may accordingly synchronize reception byintroducing an offset from the time the first shortened frame wasreceived. This offset allows the awake times of the transceiver 214 ofthe STA 106 to coincide with the transmission times of the shortenedframes of interest. In some aspects the timing information may insteadcomprise an absolute indication of the time offset until the beaconmessage. At 606, the STA 106 receives the shortened frames of interest.At 607 the process may end.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram depicting another exemplary process bywhich the wireless device of FIG. 2 generates and transmits data frames.Here, a wireless device such as the AP 104 may begin the process at 701.At 702, the AP 104 may determine a plurality of transmit intervals for afirst beacon message type and a second beacon message type. In someaspects the first beacon message type comprises a synchronization beaconmessage type and the second beacon message type comprises a generalbeacon message type comprising information such as IEs.

At 703, the AP 104 may insert a timing information and/or contentinformation about other beacon messages into at least one beacon messageof the first beacon message type. This may comprise inserting a sequencenumber or similar identifier into a synchronization beacon message. AnSTA 106 awakening from a doze state may decode this beacon message andresynchronize with the remaining beacon messages transmitted by AP 104as discussed herein.

At 704, the AP 104 may transmit the plurality of beacon messages inaccordance with the determined transmit intervals, using, for examplethe transceiver 214. At 705 the process may end.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of another exemplary wirelessdevice 800 that may be employed within the wireless communication system100 of FIG. 1. The device 800 comprises a receiving module 802 forreceiving beacon messages from devices such as the AP 104. The receivingmodule 802 may be configured to perform one or more of the functionsdiscussed above with respect to blocks 602 and 606 of FIG. 6. Thereceiving module 802 may correspond to the receiver 212. The device 800further comprises an identifying module 804 for identifying transmissiontime of beacon messages from a frame such as a synchronization beacon.The identifying module 804 may be configured to perform one or more ofthe functions discussed above with respect to blocks 604 and 605 of FIG.6. The identifying module 804 may correspond to one or more of theprocessor 204 and the DSP 220. The device 800 further comprises adecoding module 806 for decoding beacon messages as discussed above. Thedecoding module 806 may correspond to one or more of the processor 204and the DSP 220.

As used herein, the term “determining” encompasses a wide variety ofactions. For example, “determining” may include calculating, computing,processing, deriving, investigating, looking up (e.g., looking up in atable, a database or another data structure), ascertaining and the like.Also, “determining” may include receiving (e.g., receiving information),accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory) and the like. Also,“determining” may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishingand the like. Further, a “channel width” as used herein may encompass ormay also be referred to as a bandwidth in certain aspects.

As used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of itemsrefers to any combination of those items, including single members. Asan example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover: a, b, c,a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c.

The various operations of methods described above may be performed byany suitable means capable of performing the operations, such as varioushardware and/or software component(s), circuits, and/or module(s).Generally, any operations illustrated in the Figures may be performed bycorresponding functional means capable of performing the operations.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules and circuits describedin connection with the present disclosure may be implemented orperformed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor(DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a fieldprogrammable gate array signal (FPGA) or other programmable logic device(PLD), discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware componentsor any combination thereof designed to perform the functions describedherein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any commercially available processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

In one or more aspects, the functions described may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implementedin software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as oneor more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium.Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media andcommunication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of acomputer program from one place to another. A storage media may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example,and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM,EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tocarry or store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Also, any connectionis properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if thesoftware is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote sourceusing a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digitalsubscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio,and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair,DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein,includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Thus, in some aspects computer readable medium may comprisenon-transitory computer readable medium (e.g., tangible media). Inaddition, in some aspects computer readable medium may comprisetransitory computer readable medium (e.g., a signal). Combinations ofthe above should also be included within the scope of computer-readablemedia.

The methods disclosed herein comprise one or more steps or actions forachieving the described method. The method steps and/or actions may beinterchanged with one another without departing from the scope of theclaims. In other words, unless a specific order of steps or actions isspecified, the order and/or use of specific steps and/or actions may bemodified without departing from the scope of the claims.

The functions described may be implemented in hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, thefunctions may be stored as one or more instructions on acomputer-readable medium. A storage media may be any available mediathat can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and notlimitation, such computer-readable media can comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM,CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or othermagnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to carryor store desired program code in the form of instructions or datastructures and that can be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, asused herein, include compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray® disc where disksusually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce dataoptically with lasers.

Thus, certain aspects may comprise a computer program product forperforming the operations presented herein. For example, such a computerprogram product may comprise a computer readable medium havinginstructions stored (and/or encoded) thereon, the instructions beingexecutable by one or more processors to perform the operations describedherein. For certain aspects, the computer program product may includepackaging material.

Software or instructions may also be transmitted over a transmissionmedium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website,server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable,twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologiessuch as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiberoptic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such asinfrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition oftransmission medium.

Further, it should be appreciated that modules and/or other appropriatemeans for performing the methods and techniques described herein can bedownloaded and/or otherwise obtained by a user terminal and/or basestation as applicable. For example, such a device can be coupled to aserver to facilitate the transfer of means for performing the methodsdescribed herein. Alternatively, various methods described herein can beprovided via storage means (e.g., RAM, ROM, a physical storage mediumsuch as a compact disc (CD) or floppy disk, etc.), such that a userterminal and/or base station can obtain the various methods uponcoupling or providing the storage means to the device. Moreover, anyother suitable technique for providing the methods and techniquesdescribed herein to a device can be utilized.

It is to be understood that the claims are not limited to the preciseconfiguration and components illustrated above. Various modifications,changes and variations may be made in the arrangement, operation anddetails of the methods and apparatus described above without departingfrom the scope of the claims.

While the foregoing is directed to aspects of the present disclosure,other and further aspects of the disclosure may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A wireless device, comprising: a processor configured to generate awireless local area network (WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beaconincludes a service set identifier (SSID) hash; and a WLAN transmittercoupled to the processor and configured to transmit the WLAN beacon. 2.The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the SSID hash precedes achecksum octet.
 3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the SSID hashfollows a source address octet.
 4. The wireless device of claim 1,wherein the WLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 5. The wirelessdevice of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is a station.
 6. Thewireless device of claim 1, wherein the wireless device is an accesspoint.
 7. A wireless device, comprising: a WLAN receiver configured toreceive a wireless local area network (WLAN) beacon; and a processorcoupled to the WLAN receiver and configured to process the WLAN beacon,wherein the WLAN beacon includes a service set identifier (SSID) hash.8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the SSID hash precedes achecksum octet.
 9. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein the SSID hashfollows a source address octet.
 10. The wireless device of claim 7,wherein the WLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 11. The wirelessdevice of claim 7, wherein the wireless device is a station.
 12. Thewireless device of claim 7, wherein the wireless device is an accesspoint.
 13. A method for transmitting information, comprising: forming awireless local area network (WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beaconincludes a service set identifier (SSID) hash; and transmitting the WLANbeacon with a WLAN transmitter.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein theSSID hash precedes a checksum octet.
 15. The method of claim 13, whereinthe SSID hash follows a source address octet.
 16. The method of claim13, wherein the WLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 17. A method forreceiving information, comprising: receiving, with a wireless device, awireless local area network (WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beaconincludes a service set identifier (SSID) hash; and decoding the WLANbeacon.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the SSID hash precedes achecksum octet.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the SSID hashfollows a source address octet.
 20. The method of claim 17, wherein theWLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 21. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, comprising processor-executable instructionsstored thereon configured to cause a processor to: form a wireless localarea network (WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beacon includes a serviceset identifier (SSID) hash; and transmit the WLAN beacon with a WLANtransmitter.
 22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim21, wherein the SSID hash precedes a checksum octet.
 23. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the SSIDhash follows a source address octet.
 24. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the WLAN beacon is asynchronizing beacon.
 25. A non-transitory computer-readable medium,comprising processor-executable instructions stored thereon configuredto cause a processor to: receive, with a wireless device, a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beacon includes aservice set identifier (SSID) hash; and decode the WLAN beacon.
 26. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the SSIDhash precedes a checksum octet.
 27. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 25, wherein the SSID hash follows a source addressoctet.
 28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25,wherein the WLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 29. A wirelessdevice, comprising: means for forming a wireless local area network(WLAN) beacon, wherein the WLAN beacon includes a service set identifier(SSID) hash; and means for transmitting the WLAN beacon with a WLANtransmitter.
 30. The wireless device of claim 29, wherein the SSID hashprecedes a checksum octet.
 31. The wireless device of claim 29, whereinthe SSID hash follows a source address octet.
 32. The wireless device ofclaim 29, wherein the WLAN beacon is a synchronizing beacon.
 33. Thewireless device of claim 29, wherein the wireless device is a station.34. The wireless device of claim 29, wherein the wireless device is anaccess point.
 35. A wireless device, comprising: means for receiving,with a wireless device, a wireless local area network (WLAN) beacon,wherein the WLAN beacon includes a service set identifier (SSID) hash;and means for decoding the WLAN beacon.
 36. The wireless device of claim35, wherein the SSID hash precedes a checksum octet.
 37. The wirelessdevice of claim 35, wherein the SSID hash follows a source addressoctet.
 38. The wireless device of claim 35, wherein the WLAN beacon is asynchronizing beacon.
 39. The wireless device of claim 35, wherein thewireless device is a station.
 40. The wireless device of claim 35,wherein the wireless device is an access point.